New babies often mean many a sleepless night for parents. Not necessarily so, says Andrea Elovson, 44, a sleep coach, who offers an arsenal of solutions for sleepless parents and the children who keep them up.

"Lack of sleep with new parents is always this kind of jokey thing," said Elovson, but it is really a serious issue.

Elovson knows how bad it can get. When her first son Alden was born, his sleeplessness exhausted her so much that she often forgot to take her bra off when she showered. She knew she had a serious problem when she forgot sterilizing pacifiers on the stove and almost burned the house down.

That's when the journalist began researching pediatric sleep and soon came up with techniques that quickly sent her son night, night. In 2005, she launched her company Sleepy Bug to educate other parents.

"Andrea has created a program that is desperately needed," said Karen Kleiman, the director of the Postpartum Stress Center, Rosemont, Pa., in a testimonial on Elovson's web site.

New and expectant parents hire Elovson, now a mother of three, for $100 a house visit or $80 for a one-hour phone session. She also holds sleep workshops. Strategies are as simple as establishing routines for the baby or more complex, depending on the clients' needs, she said. Elovson gets about 12 new parents a month and said her business is building momentum.

"A sleep coach can offer support and vital information to alleviate the exhaustion, stress and worry of new parenthood," said Elovson.